Charizard6
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Chapter 26: One Finger Down
🕑 Added 2025-06-12 20:28:29 +0000 UTC
[Author Note: I would post the next chapters within the next day. Thanks for your support!]
Madame Gao and her nine remaining shinobi faced Kakashi the old woman's cane tapping rhythmically. "Is that your final decision? You would be immortal if you join us. You can have anything you want. Money, Woman, anything."
Kakashi just remained silent this time as he waited for them to make his move.
Madame Gao though waited for his response, "Now, now, you shouldn't keep a lady waiting for a reply. Tell me, why are you targeting the Hand?"
Kakashi shrugged, his eye crinkling in a deceptively lazy squint. "I just don't like you."
He was not lying either. The Hand's ruthlessness, their resemblance of Root's unchecked power, disgusted him.
Gao's smile didn't falter, but her eyes glinted with cold amusement. She nodded to her underlings, a silent command. The nine Hand shinobi surged forward, their blades drawn from all directions.
Kakashi's stance shifted, his tanto raised.
He channeled chakra into his blade, purple lightning crackling along its edge, a hum of power filling the air.
"Hatake Swordsmanship: Third Form—Thunder Swarm!" Kakashi swung his tanto in a fluid arc, each motion releasing waves of arched lightning that slashed through the alley like a storm.
The purple bolts struck from all directions, electrocuting the Hand shinobi. One screamed as lightning seared his chest, collapsing in a smoking heap.
Another dodged, only to be caught by a second wave, his body convulsing before stilling. One strike, one kill. Within seconds, the nine lay dead, their bodies charred, lightning flickering across them even in death.
Kakashi's eye narrowed, his thoughts drifting to his progress.
'While my Kenjutsu has improved, I'm only at purple lightning stage.'
His father, Sakumo Hatake, had wielded white lightning, a brilliance that earned him the "White Fang" moniker, amplified by his white hair. 'Dad made it look effortless.'
Kakashi's purple lightning was a milestone, stronger than standard lightning chakra, but white lightning was a league above.
He was not quite there yet.
The color shift wasn't some mystical nonsense, like a cultivation novel's "Lightning Dao" or getting zapped by heavenly tribulations.
'Thank kami it's not that dramatic,' Kakashi thought after reading some of those cultivation novels in this world.
The secret lay in blending lightning chakra with Yang chakra, a pseudo-kekkei genkai created by his father. Yang's life energy which is basically vitality. The more you infuse, the stronger the lightning.
Sakumo had developed the technique by studying Kumo's black lightning shinobi, particularly the Third Raikage, whose dark bolts mixed lightning with Yin chakra.
Sakumo had no knack for Yin, but Yang? He was a natural. Sakumo's talent had birthed white lightning.
Kakashi, inheriting his father's Yang affinity, had reached purple through rigorous training at Kamar-Taj, his chakra reserves freed from the Sharingan's drain.
'If I keep pushing, I'll hit white. Finally the world would know your legacy, Dad even though it is a different world.' Kakashi smiled a little underneath his mask.
Madame Gao stood unfazed, her cane tapping, her smile serene despite the carnage. Kakashi's eye locked onto her, his grip tightening on his tanto. 'She doesn't care about her pawns.'
She swatted her hand, a casual gesture, and an invisible force slammed into him, hurling him backward towards a brick wall.
Kakashi's instincts kicked in, his Sharingan flaring as he activated Kamui, phasing through the wall.
'Jeez, Kamui's such a cheat.' He chuckled softly, his thoughts wandering to Obito. ' I had so many ways to dodge that—Body Flicker, Substitution, Earth Wall —but Kamui's the laziest option. No wonder you spammed it, you slacker.'
The memory of Obito's carefree grin brought a smile, quickly replaced by focus. 'This ability should be Telekinesis, huh? Kamar Taj's library had a lot to say on this ability. She is using her chakra like a blunt-force jutsu but it's invisible.'
The attack reminded him of Pain's Shinra Tensei, which had leveled Konoha with a single pulse. 'She's strong, but not that strong though.'
Kakashi's eye hardened. 'Let's end this. No need to drag it out.' He used Kamui again, his body spiraling as he reappearing behind Gao in a silent swirl.
Her senses flared, her body twisting as she sensed the danger, but Kakashi was faster. His right hand crackled with lightning, the chirping of his Lightning Blade filling the air. He thrust forward, the blade piercing her chest, crushing her heart in an instant.
Madame Gao's eyes widened, a flicker of terror breaking her serene mask—the first crack in her composure since their encounter began.
She gasped, blood trickling from her lips, and collapsed, her cane clattering to the pavement. Kakashi knelt beside her, his expression unreadable, and gently closed her eyes with a gloved hand. 'Rest.'
One of the Hand's Five Fingers was killed just like that.
Kakashi stood, sheathing his tanto. Naruto, his kitsune familiar, peeked out from the rooftop, its nine tails twitching nervously. "Kakashi-sensei, you okay?" it squeaked, hopping down to his side. "That lady was mean!"
Kakashi's eye crinkled, his tone dry. "Yeah, I saw her. Stayed for the show, huh? You were supposed to stay hidden, fuzzball."
Naruto puffed out its chest, its voice comically indignant. "I was stealthy! Like a ninja, believe it! I coulda helped, ya know—foxfire, illusions, bam!"
Gladion chuckled, scratching the kitsune's headband head. "You're trouble enough, Naruto."
The kitsune yipped, prancing around his feet. "Trouble? I'm your best buddy! We're gonna take down all the bad ninjas, right? Team Awesome, dattebayo!"
Kakashi sighed, his eye crinkling. "Dattebayo, huh? You're spending too much time in my head."
Kakashi knew that from time to time Naruto read his memories and Kakashi did not stop him from doing so. This would help him build trust with his familiar.
The kitsune's resemblance to Naruto Uzumaki warmed him. He knew that the Kitsune had seen his memories and had taken a liking to his world's Naruto after figuring out he too loved Ramen. Of course, Ancient One explaination that the familiar acted like this because of his desire to see his student was also there.
"Come on, fuzzball. Let's get out of here before the cops show up."
Naruto leaped onto his shoulder, its tails tickling his neck. "Cops? Boooring! Let's find more bad guys! Or ramen! Ramen's better, believe it!"
Kakashi's eye crinkled, his voice low. "No ramen till we're clear. Stay quiet, or I'm rubbing your belly again."
The kitsune gasped, clutching its tails. "Not the belly rub! That's ninja torture!" It curled into a ball, muttering, "Fine, I'll be a super sneaky fox… for ramen."
Kakashi chuckled, body-flickering to a nearby rooftop, the city's skyline sprawling before him.
